Sunday, April 11, 2010

Music Speaks to Me

I love old hymns. I like comtemporary praise songs, too, but hymns speak to me in a different way. Perhaps this is a reflection of my upbringing. I grew up singing hymns in church; I enjoyed singing hymns with my father as he played the piano; and, many of the records played on the stereo were collections of hymns. I especially like hymns (and praise songs, too) based on scripture. One of my favorites (and there are many!) is "Great Is Thy Faithfulness."

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my father.
There is no shadow of turning with thee.
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not:
As thou hast been, thou forever wilt be!

Great is thy faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness,
Morning by morning, new mercies I see;
All I have needed thy hand hath provided;
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow;
Blessings all mine with ten-thousand beside!
(Words and music by Thomas O. Chisholm and William M. Runyan, 1923)

I am especially fond of that last verse. The words bring me comfort and encouragement, and they remind me that I am blessed to be forgiven and that I live in His presence! Praise Him! My life is a testimony of God's faithfulness to me, and this hymn says it so much better than I!

19 comments:

  1. What a wonderful post. Your words speak directly to my heart. I miss singing these wonderful, old hymns with others so much that I almost want to cry. This is the kind of post that would bless many if you posted it on Spiritual Sundays. All you would need to do is click on the title and it would become part of your URL. Then go to the S.S. blog. Put Jane in the first space and paste the URL in the second one and then click enter. That's it.

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  2. Me too, Jane. I grew up singing these songs and Great Is Thy Faithfulness is one I've always really liked. I see Clif explained how you can link to Spiritual Sundays. I hope you will. We put up the new "linky" on Fridays now. We started out posting it on Saturday but some like to go ahead and link on Friday night.
    Hope you're having a good week.
    Charlotte

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  3. Hi again. Glad you linked to Spiritual Sundays. Have a wonderful weekend.
    Blessings,
    Charlotte

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  4. I cry everytime I hear or sing this song.
    Beautiful and so true! Great is Thy Faithfulness, O God my Father.

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  5. I love this song, too. I'm glad He is faithful. God bless.

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  6. Amen ! I love this Hymn. Great is His Faithfulness !All that I have needed his Grace has provided .
    Blessings,
    ~Myrna

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  7. Jane:

    I love many of the old hymns and this is one of my favorites.

    Nice to "meet" you. I read your profile. I have a heart for women's ministry also, and I love the Mitford books!

    Good to see you on Spirital Sundays.

    Blessings,
    Joan

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  8. Oh how I LOVE this song...Always one of my very favorites. And your right, it brings me right back to when I was young and sitting in church with with my family. Have a wonderful week-end. BLESSINGS, Debbie

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  9. I am like you, the old hymns are so cherished not only because of the meaningful, rich words but because they are part of many cherished memories. I can still hear this hymn being sung just reading the words. Blessings, Patty

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  10. Yes, I love this hymn also. I remember visiting my mother when times were stressing and relaxing in her gigantic bath while she practiced beautiful old hyms on the piano...Mum is now 92yrs and can no longer use her fingers on a keyboard so plays a harmonic. I still enjoy listening to her.

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  11. This is a beautiful hymn. The last verse brings comfort to me as well.I'm so glad that your shared this song and your wonderful memories singing this song today on Spiritual Sunday.
    Blessings,
    Ginger

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  12. this is indeed one of my favorite hymns! thank you for sharing it today :)

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  13. This is such a beautiful hymn! Thank you for sharing it...God bless.

    www.myautumnyears.blogspot.com

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  14. This is a favorite of mine too! And as we grow up in Him, we not only SING ,"Great is Thy Faithfulness", but we can Testify,"Great is Thy Faithfulness." Thanks for the beautiful post.:)

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  15. I love this hymn also. It's so beautiful, and comforting. Thank you for shairng it.

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  16. So glad you joined us on S.S. I love singing the hymns as well. So much depth and passion in them. They speak straight to your heart and to the HEart of God!!

    Have a blessed weekend

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  17. This is one of those beautiful and famous old hymns that so many people know, but so often don't go beyond the first verse. Thank you for sharing the whole song. It's such a beautiful and encouraging hymn and was a special blessing today! :)

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  18. Yesterday found me sitting at the piano, playing this old hymn. It is one of my favorites and I was lamenting in church this morning about the fact that we no longer sing these.

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  19. I love hymns! Music speaks to the spirit so much!! I'm always humming them at the oddest times.

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